Stock News 2013: China's Life Insurance Companies

Insurance (Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn)

China’s life insurance companies expect a lower growth on premium in the next year or two. Over the long term, insurance companies will benefit as they adapt to the changes.

Sally Yim of Moody’s said, “For now, the sector is experiencing the constraints from its previous focus on short-term and savings-type products, as well as a significant reliance on the bancassurance channel.”

Some of Moody’s assumptions are:

• Premium growth will lag behind China’s GDP growth
• Profitability will remain a challenge due to rising expenditures
• Insurance companies are exposed to the volatility of equity markets
• New businesses will be limited due to low premium growth
• In 2012, premiums were at 4.5%. Growth in household incomes will generate premium growths of 7.5% to 8.5% in 2013 and 7.0% to 8.0% in 2014.

The expected single digit low growth is driven by:

• Narrow platform for insurance companies
• Wealth products sold by banks as alternative to insurance products
• Increase in competition as more Chinese banks distribute their own insurance products
• Chinese insurance companies are moving toward risk-based liberalization of investments and products. This include moving away from low-margin savings-type products and focus on protection-type products.

http://pinoyfiq.com/pinoyfiq/financial-education/state-of-life-insurance-companies-of-china

Related articles

• State of China's Life Insurance Companies (pinoyfiq.com)
• Cigna Gets High Marks in American Medical Association's (AMA) New Administrative Burden Index (dailyfinance.com)

Stock News 2013: UCPB income up 18% in 1st quarter

English: The new logo of United Coconut Planters Bank (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) posted an 18 percent increase in net income in the first quarter to P1.04 billion from P883.7 million in the same period last year.

In a statement, UCPB president and chief executive officer Jeronimo Kilayko said the growth in income was mainly driven by a 51 percent improvement in non-interest income.

Kilayko also noted a 70 percent increase in trading and securities gain from treasury activities to P 829.1 million.

Likewise, income from trust operations increased 42 percent to reach P 32.4 million.

Total loans increased 16 percent to P91.1 billion from the same period a year before, with consumer loans growing at a stronger pace of 30 percent as a result of the bank’s more aggressive stance towards marketing its consumer loan products.

“We have placed a great deal of focus on the needs of our customers and meticulously worked to provide them with a range of investment products tailored to their requirements,” Kilayko said.

“We believe that our close relationship with our customers allow us to customize and respond to their needs accordingly.”

The bank’s revenue growth continues to outpace the slight increase in operating expense of P1.32 billion, a minimal increase of 4.6 percent over the first quarter of 2012.

The combined performance of revenue and operating expense components enabled a robust increase in net income.

http://www.philstar.com/business/2013/05/29/947413/ucpb-income-18-q1

Related articles

• Stock News 2013: PSBank posts record net profit of P2B in Q1 (investingstocksinphilippines.blogspot.com)
• Shareholders commend FBN Holdings' performance, approve N32bn dividend (vanguardngr.com)
• Israel's three biggest banks post mixed Q1 results (haaretz.com)
• HSBC Says Quarterly Profit Almost Doubles on Cost-Cutting Plan (bloomberg.com)
• Sallie Mae and the cost of education for students (voxxi.com)
• Increased Bank Profits Partially Due to Reduced Loan Losses (broadcastarchives.net)
• First Hawaiian reports decline of nearly 7.4% in Q1 income (bizjournals.com)
• DBS Profit Unexpectedly Increases on Fees and Trading Income - Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• CoBank's Q1 profit drops 9.4% on lower net interest income, higher costs (bizjournals.com)

Stock News 2012: Union Bank profit up 17% to P6.3B in Jan-Sept

English: A logo for the Union Bank of the Philippines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Union Bank of the Philippines, the financial arm of the Aboitizes, has posted a net income of P6.3 billion in the first nine months of 2012, up 17 percent from P5.4 billion in the same period in 2011, a company report said.

In its report submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), UnionBank’s net income for the third quarter declined to P2.2 billion from P2.5 billion last year.

Net interest income rose to P5.4 billion in the first three quarters of the year compared to P5.2 billion last year. However, net interest income for the quarter alone dropped to P1.78 billion from P1.82 billion in 2011.

UnionBank’s gains from trading increased to P5.28 billion as against P4.45 billion in the comparative period last year.

The bank’s basic earnings per share stood at P13.13 in January to September 2012 from P11.24 in the same period 2011.

This year, the bank is expecting its income to grow 10 to 15 percent from last year.

Loan growth for the year is likely to hit 20 to 25 percent, said UnionBank president and COO Vic Valdepeñas.

UnionBank started operations in 1981 and became a commercial bank by Jan. 19, 1982.

In July 1992, it was granted the license to operate as a universal bank.

The bank acquired the International Corporate Bank (Interbank) in 1994.

At present, it has multiple channels that are available for transaction and information access such as through its 190 branches nation wide, 224 ATMs as of January 2012), a call center and Internet bank.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=66&articleId=863405

Related articles

• Banking Union To Be Set Up In Europe Next Year (eurasiareview.com)
• Credit Unions And Banks Offering The Same Rates On Car Loans (keystoneautoloans.com)
• BBK's Dombret: Bank Union Should Have Bail-In For Creditors (forexlive.com)
• DNC Owes Union Bank $15M (redalertpolitics.com)
• European Stocks Decline as EU Leaders Discuss Bank Union Plans (bloomberg.com)
• Moody's: Lack Bank Union Progress Cred Negative For Weaker EZ (forexlive.com)

Stock News 2012: Cocolife's 1st yr premiums breach P1-B mark

Insurance (Photo credit: Christopher S. Penn)
United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp., popularly known as Cocolife, ranked as the second highest producer in the traditional life insurance business among 33 listed companies last year, according to a listing released by the Insurance Commission.

According to Cocolife, it brought in P1.087 billion in first year premiums, the only company other than Philam Life to have breached the one billion mark in the category.

Cocolife president Alfredo Tumacder Jr. said in a statement over the weekend that the company’s Healthcare business also exceeded its premium goals with the introduction of new products and enhanced services for their clients and partners.

Tumacder attributed the strong performance of the company last year to continued efforts to expand the market reach of its Individual business line, with the creation of branch sites in major malls and growth areas nationwide.

Cocolife’s Traditional Life Insurance products focus primarily on providing for the protection needs of the client.

“They are simpler and generally more affordable than most wealth management products yet offer highest value for money. More importantly, they are virtually immune to market fluctuations, which make them a safe and guaranteed investment in these uncertain times,” Tumacder said.

The company’s strong performance in this business line is a reflection of its renewed efforts to get back to basics which involves designing and selling products in such a way that the customer will have confidence that what they are buying is right for them.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=839455&publicationSubCategoryId=66

Related articles

• Fund your child's retirement now with life insurance (insurance.com)
• How much can you save on life insurance by losing 20 pounds? (insurance.com)
• How smoking torches your term life insurance rates (insurance.com)
• Consumer Reviews Mega Mall MyReviewsNow.net Spotlights Important... (prweb.com)
• Self interest drives life insurance premiums up! (pinnaclelife.co.nz)
• Prudential top bidder for Hartford life insurance business -Bloomberg (uk.reuters.com)
• Hurry Up and Claim Your Life Insurance Benefit Before the State Can Get It (ireport.cnn.com)
• Purchasing Life Insurance: Things You Need To Know (bananarat.com)
• Eight Hobbies Your Life Insurer Won't Approve Of (businessinsider.com)

Stock News 2012: Union Bank posts 300% profit growth in Q1

A logo for the Union Bank of the Philippines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) has recorded its highest quarterly growth in terms of net earnings with a 300 percent growth in the first three months of 2012.

From P708 million in the first three months of 2011, earnings ballooned to P2.84 billion this year.

UBP president and chief operating officer Victor B. Valdepenas said it is not only the bank’s highest growth recorded in a given quarter, but “it is also a third of the P6.59 billion net income recorded for the whole of 2011, and we are only in the first quarter of 2012.”

He explained that the universal bank of the Aboitiz Group took advantage of the volatility of the fixed income market due to the low interest rate regime and the strong performance of the equities market.

Barring any dramatic change in the direction of the country’s capital markets as well as economy in general, the bank may surpass its original target of a 10- to 15-percent growth in net earnings this year compared to the previous year.

Valdepenas said that with the kind of growth in the first three months of the year, “we may surpass all targets and all expectations.”

Trading gains in the first three months of 2012 grew to P2.6 billion from P186 million in the same period last year.

Total loans expanded to P115 billion by the end of March, surpassing the P105 billion as of end 2011.

“Consumer loans outpaced all the rest of the segments, while corporate lending was basically flatish as they went to the capital markets,” the UBP chief executive explained.

Net interest income rose slightly to P1.77 billion in the first quarter this year, from the P1.76 billion in the same period last year.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=66&articleId=801980

Related articles

• Meralco Q1 core net income up 5% (business.inquirer.net)
• Union Bank posts record profit (business.inquirer.net)
• Meralco expanding prepaid electricity scheme pilot testing (business.inquirer.net)
• P&G net income falls 16 percent, hurt by restructuring plan (oregonlive.com)

Stock News 2012: Filinvest Dev't subscribes to P3-B East West Bank shares

Portage Ave EastWest 06-10-07 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) has subscribed to P3 billion or a fourth of the increase in capitalization of its banking arm EastWest Bank Corp.

EastWest Bank raised its capitalization from P8 billion to P20 billion.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, FDC said it subscribed to 300 million common shares of EastWest Bank with a par value of P10.

The Filinvest Group is one of the country’s leading conglomerates, with interests in real estate through Filinvest Land, financial and banking services, and sugar manufacturing through Pacific Sugar Holdings.

EastWest Bank posted a net income of P1.5 billion as of October last year, down 6.1 percent from the previous level, due to lower trading gains. Net revenues also fell 5.1 percent to P5.9 billion as a result of lower trading income.

Net interest income, however rose 11.4 percent to P3.9 billion as the bank improved its lending businesses and management of its cost of funds.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=769320&publicationSubCategoryId=

Stock News 2011: Grepalife-managed mutual funds surpass P3-B sales in Q3

Image via WikipediaImage via WikipediaImage via Wikipedia
Grepalife Asset Management Corporation (GAMC), the mutual fund management arm of Yuchengco Group of Companies, has marked its presence in the mutual fund market by surpassing P3.2 billion gross sales mark as of the end of the third quarter of 2011. Based on data from the Philippine Investment Fund Association (PIFA) as of the period ended August 2011, GAMC-managed mutual funds likewise dominated total net sales (difference between gross sales and redemptions) among bond mutual funds invested in foreign currency securities by increasing net assets by P1.3 billion representing 106% share in total net sales growth for all funds in the same category. Industry data likewise revealed some competitor funds have experienced negative net sales in the same period.

Butch L. Lustado, Assistant General Manager of GAMC claims that the stable returns have allowed their company to grow their assets under management to over P4.6 billion by the end of the third quarter of 2011. “Our investors are by and large very satisfied with the way we handle their hard-earned funds and keep them informed about it,” says Lustado. GAMC has an on-demand account inquiry service for investors via SMS and the Internet.

http://mb.com.ph/articles/337019/grepalifemanaged-mutual-funds-surpass-p3b-sales-q3

Stock News 2011: Gotianun bank sees assets growing to P100B this year

Image by randz via Flickr
Gotianun-led East West Bank seeks to scale up its auto-lending business by offering attractive gas freebies as part of its goal of hitting P100 billion in total bank resources this year.

In a briefing Friday,  East West Bank president Antonio Moncupa Jr. unveiled a car-financing program that offers up to P50,000 in free gas for clients availing themselves of auto loans with a size of more than P2 million. The offering is seen very timely and attractive given the upswing in global fuel prices.

The bank’s auto loan package carries a fixed interest rate of between 8 and 12 percent depending on the tenor, which ranges between 36 and 40 months. “We make sure we’re very competitive,” Moncupa said, noting that with narrowing loan spreads due to stiff competition in the banking system, it was a must to expand business volume.

East West Bank has expanded its car lending business by 26.2 percent in the first semester compared with a year ago, cementing its position as the country’s sixth biggest auto loan provider.

About P8 billion of the bank’s loans was devoted to car lending, Moncupa estimated.  This represented about 18 percent of the bank’s P44-billion loan portfolio as of end-June.

http://business.inquirer.net/16391/gotianun-bank-sees-assets-growing-to-p100b-this-year

Stock News 2011: ERC okays Subic Enerzone's P565-M loan

Image via Wikipedia
A provisional approval was granted by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on the bid of Subic Enerzone Corporation (SEZ) to secure P565 million loan from Metrobank to be earmarked for its debt refinancing and capital expenditures.

“SEZ is hereby authorized to secure a loan in the amount of P565 million with Metrobank or any banking/financial institution to refinance its outstanding loan and finance its capital expenditure projects,” the regulator has specified in its ruling.

Of the amount, P310 million will be aligned to refinance debt obligations previously secured with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) while the rest will be for its capex program spread through the years.

As culled from its manifestation with the ERC, Subic Enerzone indicated that it would require P165.886 million for capital projects from 2011 to 2015; and another P290.810 million for the years 2016 to 2020. These have been based also on previous approval given by the ERC on its line-up of projects.

“The capex projects for the period 2011 to 2015 are included in SEZ’s application for approval of its annual revenue requirement and performance incentive scheme under the rules for setting distribution wheeling rates,” the ERC decision has emphasized.

http://mb.com.ph/node/326271/erc-okay

Stock News 2011: Banco de Oro eyes takeover of PBCom

Image via Wikipedia
The country’s largest lender, Banco de Oro Unibank, has submitted a conditional offer to take over Philippine Bank of Communications, where a controlling stake is currently on the auction block.

PBCom disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday that BDO, which is controlled by the family of the Philippines’ wealthiest tycoon Henry Sy, had submitted a proposal to invest in the bank, confirming an item that appeared in news column Biz Buzz on Monday.

In a separate disclosure, however, BDO said its offer to take over the 64-branch PBCom was not “formal.”

“BDO did submit an expression of interest in the transaction subject to further discussions and qualified by certain conditions,” the BDO disclosure said. It did not disclose the conditions it sought.

A group led by former Trade Minister Roberto V. Ongpin also seeks to gain a foothold in the banking business by acquiring a controlling stake in the medium-sized PBCom.

http://business.inquirer.net/4823/banco-de-oro-eyes-takeover-of-pbcom

Related articles

• Philippines Wins Moody's Rating Upgrade on Fiscal Progress (businessweek.com)

Stock News 2011: GPLAC gears up for expansion after record year in profitability

Image by Leader Nancy Pelosi via Flickr
Generali Pilipinas Life Assurance Company (GPLAC) described 2010 as a record year in terms of profitability following the strategic focus it successfully implemented on its bancassurance distribution channel.

Central to this strategic focus was a dramatic shift from single-pay plans to selling products with recurring premiums, a move purposely designed to create a steady source of premium income, and thus resulting to stable profits for the company.

The company’s bancassurance operations showed an impressive growth of more than 167% in terms of new business recurring premiums to P550 million from P205 million the year before. Group insurance premiums also climbed up 21 percent at the end of 2010.

"Now that we have successfully enhanced our business model, with a much better equipped bancassurance sales force, coupled with a steady and profitable group insurance customer base, this company can look forward to sustainable long-term growth, " said Generali chief executive Renato Vergel De Dios. "We are committed to continually strengthen our financial position and deliver value to our clients and stakeholders."

The strong performance of GPLAC in 2010 continued in the first quarter of this year, posting significant increases in premiums from its individual business and group business by 64 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/322249/gplac-gear

Related articles

• Generali First-Quarter Premiums Decline 8.3% on Life Business (businessweek.com)
• Generali Eyes Strong Year (online.wsj.com)

Stock News 2011: Robinsons seeks comm’l bank license

Image via Wikipedia
Robinsons Bank Corp. will operate as a commercial bank once the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas grants it the necessary license.

A KB license will allow RobinsonsBank to offer its clients a wider array of innovative financial products such as foreign letters of credit and other trade instruments and put the bank in an even greater capacity to serve as it aims to be among the country’s top 10 commercial banks.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent approval of the merger between Robinsons Savings Bank and Robinsons Bank Corp. completes the legal and regulatory requirements needed by the BSP to award Robinsons Bank Corp., the surviving commercial bank entity from the merger of the two Gokongwei-owned banks, a KB license.

http://mb.com.ph/node/321434/robin

Related articles

• Philippines, Ahead of Inflation Fight, Touts Policy Tools (businessweek.com)

Stock News 2011: BDO Leasing expands loan portfolio

Image via Wikipedia
BDO Leasing and Finance, Inc. (BDOLF) is seeking to widen its loan portfolio amid a stable outlook on the economy this year.

At the sidelines of the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting, BDO Leasing president Georgiana Gamboa said they will continue to find the niche markets and support clients whose needs remain unserved by banks.

In particular these are markets that need the Factoring of Receivables and Leasing products.

“Right now our products and services are extended to different provinces and key cities by virtue of the extensive Banco De Oro (BDO) branch network, which are strategically located all over the country,” she said.

Gamboa explained that, ‘because of this, clients are able to enjoy the same products and services wherever they may be. The plan is to further expand our geographical coverage to reach out to more clients.”

http://mb.com.ph/node/321014/bdo-lea

Stock News 2011: PSE encourages more SMEs to go public

Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Businesses are like babies. They need looking after from their hardworking parents, the entrepreneurs.

These entrepreneurs have to care for their “babies” when they aren’t doing well and sing their praises when they reach new heights.

And eventually, entrepreneurs will have to let their firms leave the nest and have prosperous lives of their own.

For parents, this usually means sending their sons and daughters to college. For entrepreneurs, this can mean an initial public offering (IPO).

Jose Antonio Villar, head of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Marketing Services Department, said some local entrepreneurs have discovered that going public has helped their companies grow faster than if they had remained private.

Despite this, many businessmen that are “in love” with their businesses still have reservations about selling part of their companies to total strangers.

“I know, many of you are thinking, ‘Why should I share my company?’” Villar said.

He acknowledged that many business owners are worried about sharing their company profits and control with outside investors.

But listing on the stock exchange is one way to get cheap capital needed to fund growth and expansion.

He thus urged the small business owners to conduct an IPO and take advantage of the strong capital flows that are expected to enter Asia as international fund managers make bets on the region’s growth prospects.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20110317-326023/PSE-encourages-more-SMEs-to-go-public

Stock News 2011: Chinatrust’s net profit grows 20% to P410M

Image via Wikipedia
The Philippine unit of Taiwan-based banking giant Chinatrust Commercial Bank grew its net profit in 2010 by 20.84 percent to P410 million, on the back of improved interest margins and large treasury earnings.

This translated to 7.3 percent return on equity and 1.6 percent return on assets of Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank.

Better margins were on account of lower cost of funds while income from treasury operations substantially increased, the bank in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.

"The favorable economic environment that prevailed last year allowed Chinatrust to take advantage of the opportunities in the bond markets," the bank. Trading gains and foreign exchange gains thus amounted to P307 million, an increase of 90.33 percent from a year ago.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20110317-325976/Chinatrusts-net-profit-grows-20-to-P410M

Related articles

• Chinatrust sets sights on Metlife Taiwan unit-report (reuters.com)

Stock News 2011: ‘Using fake borrowers was GA practice’

Image via Wikipedia
Two former Globe Asiatique (GA) employees have admitted to state prosecutors that the property developer had been using fake borrowers even before the Xevera projects in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

Venissa Panem and Francisco dela Cruz told a special Department of Justice (DoJ) panel that GA used “special buyers”—the term used by the firm to refer to fake borrowers—not only to obtain loans from the Home Development Mutual Fund or the Pag-IBIG Fund, but also from private banks.

The two admitted that they and other GA employees posed as “special buyers” so the company can get loans.

“At the behest of my superiors in Globe Asiatique, I was able to produce several hundreds of special buyers,” Dela Cruz said.

GA president Delfin Lee and other GA officials are currently facing charges of syndicated estafa (fraud) constituting economic sabotage before the DoJ for allegedly using spurious or fake borrowers to obtain housing loans amounting to over P6 billion from Pag-IBIG Fund.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20110317-325928/Using-fake-borrowers-was-GA-practiceex-employees

Stock News 2011: Lopez Holdings expects to wipe out deficit in 2011

Image via Wikipedia
Lopez Holdings Corporation expects to wipe-out its remaining deficit this year and post positive retained earnings within the year.

In an interview with reporters, Lopez Holdings president Salvador Tirona said the firm has a remaining deficit of P100 million after undergoing a quasi-reorganization wherein it applied its additional paid in capital of about P6 billion to wipe out most of its deficit.

“The major businesses ABS-CBN Corp. and First Philippine Holdings Corp. have a good prospect on their performance this year. It’s going to be a good year,” Tirona said. Posting positive retained earnings will allow the firm to resume paying dividends to its shareholders although Tirona would not commit to the firm’s paying out dividends from earnings this year.

Meanwhile, Tirona said Lopez Holdings has been able to reduce its debt to $65 million, from P560 million in 2002, on the company’s continuing efforts to buy back debt at a discount.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/307204/lopez-holding

Stock News 2011: GM Bank expands mobile banking scope

GM Bank is the largest rural bank in Nueva Ecija (Philippines) with its head office in Cabanatuan City, more than three hours by land north of Manila. It has been in partnership with Globe’s G-Xchange Inc. (GXI) and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines-Microentrepreneurs Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) program and for its mobile phone banking initiative since 2006.

It is also one of the banks participating in the new Channel Management Initiative supported by USAID/Philippines and MICRA Philippines, which is supported by Mercy Corps through a grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The initiative focuses on developing partnerships between local merchant-partners who are accredited GXI cash-in and cash-out outlets (CICOs).

Rural banks provide liquidity services to the CICOs as well as send customers to their shops. The CICOs provide cash-in and cash-out services for the rural banks and help them in promoting mobile phone banking services.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=661764&publicationSubCategoryId=74

Related articles

• Philippine Prices Continue to Rise (online.wsj.com)
• Philippines inflation soars high (bbc.co.uk)
• Philippine Bank's Tetangco Can Stay, Purisima Says (businessweek.com)

Stock News 2011: EastWest Bank reduces mortgage financing interest to 5.88%

Image via Wikipedia
EastWest Bank has recently introduced its lowest home loan interest rate of 5.88% fixed for the first year. Owning a real estate property by availing of a mortgage financing facility at only 5.88% interest rate provides borrowers a great deal of savings which they can use for other expenditures or purchases.

The Bank now offers a range of housing loan products that are especially designed for the specific needs of the borrower.

The Home ACQUIRE allows an availee to purchase a house and lot or a townhouse, while Condo ACQUIRE provides financing for acquisition of a condominium unit. For those who wish to purchase a residential lot, the Bank offers Lot ACQUIRE which is payable within a 10 year period.

Lot owners who opt to build their own house in their property may apply for Home CONSTRUCT with a maximum payment term of 30 years.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=658215&publicationSubCategoryId=74

Stock News 2011: URC doubles net profit to P7.8 billion

Image via Wikipedia
Universal Robina Corporation (URC) reported that its net income attributable to equity holders of the parent doubled to P7.82 billion in fiscal year ending September 2010 from P3.89 billion in the previous fiscal year.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), URC said consolidated sale of goods and services rose 14.4 percent to P57.72 billion as revenues from almost all business segments grew by double digits.

Sale of goods and services in URC’s branded consumer foods segment (BCFG), excluding packaging division, hiked 11.1 percent to P42.32 billion from P38.1 billion in 2009.

http://www.mb.com.ph/node/299168/urc-double